How do I know he was only pretending? He dropped a few hints. One was his feigned concern about said growing division among his fellowGOPers. Or maybe he meant that, but considering the same old right wing talking points coming out of his own mouth, and his record, how sincere could he have been?

However, the obvious giveaway that exposed him to be the partisan hack that he is was when, as he claimed to support working across the aisle with the new "bipartisan" House members, he repeatedly used the word "Democrat" as an adjective. That's a well-known GOP slur, or as the New Yorker referred to such language, "The 'Ic' Factor":

To wit:

The Democrat Party has a clear record when it comes to taxes.

And:

Nothing threatens our hard-won reforms and economic prosperity more than a Democrat victory this November.

And:

The difference is clear: if you want the government in your pocket, vote Democrat.

Memo to Messer (and all Republicans): It's called the Democratic Party.

There’s no great mystery about the motives behind this deliberate misnaming. “Democrat Party” is a slur, or intended to be—a handy way to express contempt. Aesthetic judgments are subjective, of course, but “Democrat Party” is jarring verging on ugly. It fairly screams “rat.” [...]

In the conservative media, the phenomenon feeds more voraciously the closer you get to the mucky, sludgy bottom. “Democrat Party” is standard jargon on right-wing talk radio and common on winger Web sites...

So here's an idea, Republicans: If you want to maintain even a shred of credibility, stop insulting the very party you claim to want to work with so badly. Unless you want us to start calling you "Rushpublics."